There are about six million Palestinians residing outside of the territories of West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, comprising a diaspora that spans not just neighboring countries, but every corner of the globe. Ghassan Fares, a Palestinian who emigrated from the West Bank at age 17, describes this diverse global community perfectly: “Between my seven siblings and me, we have six different citizenships,” he remarks.

After a successful career in the hospitality industry in several middle eastern countries, Ghassan identified an unexpected investment opportunity in his hometown of Ramallah that would become his passion project. In 2017, Ghassan invested in City Inn, a four-star hotel with 47 rooms located on the main road from Jerusalem to Ramallah. City Inn offers a comfortable stay for tourists, Arabs living in Israel, corporate clients, and conference goers.

As a seasoned hotel investor and a native Palestinian, Mr. Fares was well aware of the inherent risks of investing in this market. However, he leveraged his experience to implement innovative investments to address environmental issues, including upgrading the facilities, appliances, and infrastructure to reduce energy consumption. “I knew the high cost that I have to spend on this investment,” he admits, “but profit was not my only motivation. I have an emotional connection to this place.” His commitment would be put to the test in 2020, when a global pandemic brought the hotel industry to a standstill.

In addition to cutting off the flow of almost all hotel clientele, the COVID-19 travel ban prevented Mr. Fares to visit the business for nearly two years. In the absence of its Owner, City Inn’s survival was in the hands of its local female managers who steered the business through the darkest days of the pandemic, and their steadfast leadership helped the hotel survive to this day.

Mr. Fares returned at the first opportunity in October 2021, and he and his team were eager to get back to business ahead of the anticipated return to more normal travel. Unfortunately, in the idle period the facilities had deteriorated, and the equipment had fallen into disrepair. Walls bubbled and cracked with moisture damage. Kitchen and laundry appliances rusted over. Making the hotel presentable and operational required hefty restarting costs which drained the finances needed to rehire and retrain a new workforce.

Around the same time, the Small and Medium Enterprise Assistance for Recovery and Transition (SMART) Project was launching its recovery programs with Palestinian hotels at the top of the agenda. Ghassan was one of the 76 hotel owners who applied in November 2021, and City Inn joined a group of 33 hotels in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza to implement Recovery Plans with support from USAID. With SMART support, City Inn’s Recovery Plan breathed new life into the business at a key turning point. The hotel was able to greet the influx of post-travel ban guests in the summer of 2022 with freshly painted and refurbished rooms, fully functional laundry and kitchen equipment, and an upgraded E-Platform to manage bookings.

The hotel is now operating at maximum capacity. The occupancy rate has increased by 82% and revenue has increased by 77%. Furthermore, Mr. Fares participated in a training on climate change mitigation strategies in business operations, along with 75 other business owners and managers currently partnered with SMART for Recovery Plans.

Ghassan, like so many Palestinian business owners, is more than willing to meet USAID halfway with the expense of reopening his hotel, and he is keen to translate this investment into substantial returns for the Palestinian economy. Not only did the SMART Project ensure rapid delivery of small business support from the American people, but it also gave a discouraged diaspora investor the renewed confidence to rebuild his business, rehire his staff, and ultimately contribute to the growth and stability of his home country.